Corona man accused of sexually abusing 2 child relatives; bail set at $9.37 million

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A 22-year-old Corona man has been arrested on multiple charges of child sex abuse involving two alleged victims who are relatives of the suspect, authorities said.

Benny Zavala was taken into custody Friday afternoon after an elementary school student met with a school counselor and reported a sexual assault by a relative that had occurred the night before, the Corona Police Department said in a Tuesday statement.

The counselor then spoke with a Corona police officer who was visiting the campus that day as part of the Adopt-A-School program. A subsequent investigation, also involving the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, "revealed another child victim of sexual abuse who is related to Zavala," the news release said.

"Both victims reported how Zavala molested them on several occasions between two and three years ago when they were very young," the statement said, adding that all of the alleged incidents took place in Corona.

Following his arrest, Zavala was booked on charges of sexual intercourse with a minor under age 10, oral copulation of a minor under 10, sexual penetration of a minor under 10, and lewd acts with a minor. His bail was set at $9,375,000.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Daryl Sailer at (951) 817-5796 or daryl.sailer@coronaca.gov.